Corbyn admits ‘we haven’t covered ourselves in glory’ after Your Party feud

Jeremy Corbyn has admitted “we haven’t covered ourselves in glory” after a bitter feud at the top of Your Party, as he relaunched the fledgling political group’s membership portal.

He apologised to supporters for “the confusion in getting to this point”, urging them to “move on” and sign up as founding members ahead of the party’s inaugural conference in November.

A public spat erupted between Mr Corbyn and Zarah Sultana last week after she promoted a system to take payments for their new political outfit, which he disowned as an “unauthorised email”.

This prompted Ms Sultana to claim she faced a “sexist boys’ club” and to instruct “specialist defamation lawyers”, though she later dropped the legal action and vowed to “reconcile” with Mr Corbyn.

The former Labour leader and Independent MP for Islington North on Wednesday launched an “official” membership portal.

In a video message, he said: “We’ve had some fraught days in the last week, as you will no doubt be very aware. And to be honest, we haven’t covered ourselves in glory.

“But what is most important is this: We all agree about the plans for the conference and the road map to get to it.

“Before all the commotion last week, the plans themselves were warmly welcomed right across our movement.

“People desperately want the chance for a real alternative, an alternative to poverty, to war and injustice.

“So let’s get on with it. Today you can turn your support into real membership. Our official membership portal is now open.”

He continued: “To all our supporters, I’m sorry for the confusion in getting to this point. Together, all of us, let’s move on to the next stage.”

Mr Corbyn also promised that “your data, your membership payments, will be secure”.

The veteran left-winger last week told people to cancel any direct debits set up in response to Ms Sultana’s membership drive, and Your Party referred itself to the UK’s data protection watchdog after data was collected and payments taken.

The party on Wednesday announced its founding conference will be held in Liverpool on November 29 and 30.

Your Party, which is yet to decide on an official name, is seen as a potential challenger to Labour, Reform UK and the Green Party.